Have you guys ever interviewed anyone who has much MUCH more experience than you do for a co-worker position?
I have to tomorrow. Lets just say when he had his first listed job, I was in kindergarten. So, I don’t want to come across as a jerk … you know that young brat who thinks he knows everything but I still want to ask some serious questions.
Any suggestions?
Yes, its for a technical engineering position.
Re: Interviewing
There’s no need to get intimidated AJ… it’s pretty common these days with the baby boomers making their way out of the workforce, and some are looking to prolong their job tenures by switching to new jobs.
You can always acknowledge the candidate’s vast work experience as a means to break the ice and as a symbol of your respect. Also remember that even though the candidate might have a lot of work experience in his/her respective domain, but you’re primarily interviewing for a specific job and you’re interviewing to determine their fit with the position and the organization… in this area, you’re ultimately more knowledgeable than the candidate.
I sometimes face a similar situation where I get old and experienced ppl who’re pursuing graduate studies and want me to supervise their projects and thesis… in some cases, the person is older than my own folks and they have a very rich work portfolio. In the end it turns out to be a mutual learning experience.
Re: Interviewing
try not to make him/her relax.
flood random questions.
more experience means more exaggeration. so you have enough time to compile the next question.
you already seem impressed. dont be impressed. findout glitches. investigate who-what-when-where.
remember no story has perfect ending.
and focus on Umer Bhai Last statment
ps. i have pleanty of experience with aunties. i always endup taking their interview instead of they taking mine 
(and i am telling ya, they are the hard ones :D)
Re: Interviewing
aj. having been in a position where we interviewed a potential boss I chuckle reading your inquiry, exact same thoughts albeit with the edge that teh dude may come in as a boss and have a negative view based on how he/she was handled in an interview/
just be yourself, be respectful and professional.
Re: Interviewing
dont keep thinking that the person is older then u ofcourse show respect but dont forget that u r finding the rite person for the rite job!
Re: Interviewing
Yes... I acknowledged his knowledge/experience and went on to interview him from there. I described the goals/expectations and my own background and explained that I needed someone who could complement my deficiencies in specific skill sets. I had a good idea of how things needed to be done, but i lacked the technical expertise; still I was able to discern whether he knew his stuff by the answers he gave.
I interviewed two ppl for that position (phone interview) - one was a fresh college grad who was raw on the experience but eager for the job; the other was an older guy with loads of experience and a more comprehensive skill set. I ended up hiring the older guy; unfortunately when he showed up to work, he came with a big chip on his shoulder. I think he resented reporting to me for many reasons, i was a woman, desi, much younger... and he had a major ego/superiority complex... and it was just an unpleasant experience with him fighting me at every step.
One of the reasons I hired the older guy was because I thought I could benefit from his experience and add to my skillset; that "mutual learning" thing Umar Talib mentioned. However, from that experience I learnt that sometimes it's better to go for someone who may be slightly less qualified but is a team player. After all many ppl learn and grow on the job.
Re: Interviewing
aj- so how did it go?
Re: Interviewing
While working at a consulting company I used to have to do that all the time. One time I saw this resume of a guy who was 3 times my age and as many times of years in experience. As Umar pointed out, I started with discussing his vast experience (with an impressed tone) I went on to asking some pointed, technical questions to which his answers were sub-par. Later we found that he was really good with people and hence had good references and nice work experiences, but technically was lacking skills. In the end I did recommend hiring him, but not for implementations but as a sales engineer (which mostly requires people skills with some good knowledge of buzz words).
Re: Interviewing
3 times your age... hmmm
So being conservative, lets say you're about 90 now.... assuming retired... so lets say you were 50 when you inteviewed him... a 150 yr old sales engineer... that is one old fart!
OK so i'm bored beyond comprehension. :(